Thursday, February 11, 2010

Is Jewelry Disposable?

Jewelry is the best accessory. Out of all the types of accessories such as glasses, handbags, perfumes, watches etc., jewelry is one that is class apart. I am not saying this because I love jewelry but I am saying this as an accessory designer.

Jewelry is the only accessory which is neither disposable nor dispensable. Jewelry does not get consumed or gets worn out (unless of poor quality or artificial) neither does it get old. Any fine jewelry piece above $500 is certainly a financial investment and any piece below $500 is your staple. Further, it is hard to match accentuating power of jewelry to any dress on any body type. Jewelry is truly a unique accessory of them all.

Call to arms for managing your jewelry collection efficiently...

I would like present a viewpoint which modifies the conclusion drawn from the above argument. I believe that any jewelry below $500 should be treated as disposable. This does not mean that we should dump or trash our jewelry to get rid of them. What it really means is that you should manage your collection in a smart way. For all fine jewelry below $500, you should segregate your collection into three parts. First part consists of your perennial favorites that cannot be replaced. Second part of your collection consists of jewelry pieces that exist to provide a wider variety to your first collection. Third part of your collection are the pieces which were bought because they were fashionable or part of a fad at that time. Those pieces may still look good but they represent the transient part of your collection. I believe that it is the second and the third parts of your collection that are prime candidates for replacement because of the loss of "freshness factor".

How to Dispose Jewelery

Disposable nature of an accessory is truly revealed when it looses its "Freshness Factor". The same is the case with any fine jewelry below $500. Any jewelry that has lost its "Freshness Factor" is certainly not in the first part of your collection. There is a certain amount of emotional inertia in keeping that jewelry piece in your collection. I would argue that you should actively look to replace those pieces. There are many ways jewelry can be disposed without loosing out on value. Gifting or exchanging is an easy way to dispose jewelry without disposing its value. Selling it the most difficult option because your will either end up putting it on ebay or selling it to your local jeweler. You can also try to get your jewelry altered into something that you always liked or something you wanted to try. The bottom line is that there are multiple options when it comes to disposing jewelry without parting with its value.

So like clothes or handbags, why keep jewelry that is no longer serving your purpose? I don't..